Recovered Giulio Ciccone ready for season debut at Tirreno-Adriatico

Giulio Ciccone has not competed this season due to illness, but on Monday the Italian climber will finally race again. The 31-year-old rider is included in Lidl-Trek’s squad for Tirreno-Adriatico (March 9-15).

Ciccone was set to make his season debut at the UAE Tour (February 16-22), but illness disrupted those plans. The aggressive climber has now recovered and is ready to race: at Tirreno-Adriatico, he will cover his first race kilometers of 2026.

The Italian has started his home tour four times before. Three years ago, in the 2023 edition, he finished fifth in the general classification. In 2022, he also placed tenth overall.

Milan for the sprints
While Ciccone appears to be the designated GC contender, Lidl-Trek is targeting sprint success with Jonathan Milan. The 25-year-old rider has already been extremely successful this year in the Middle East, securing two stage wins in the AlUla Tour and three stage victories in the UAE Tour.

Milan can count on a (on paper) very strong sprint train with Edward Theuns, Max Walscheid, and final lead-out man Simone Consonni. Puncheur Andrea Bagioli and climber Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier complete the lineup.